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21 JL first outing, what did i do wrong?

drivingfool

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I suggest you join a club. I'm prior service and have been driving 4x4s my entire adult life, but I learned a ton by wheeling with a club. Guys have been wheeling trails since the old CJs, and alot of the trails we're on today were broken in by those old jeeps.
 

HappyJeeper

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With the torque of the diesel and the trails you do, you could just leave it in 2WD. It will climb anything. If you get any wheel spin, put it in 4WD. I am amazed how little I need 4WD on even some rough stuff. Even less need for low range.
 

Gunfighter

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You'll get to know your Jeep more and it becomes more fun too. Enjoy - I used to have a CJ5 in college and it was a blast! Today's Jeep is way more sophisticated. My first trip to the dunes was an odd experience in 4H for the first 30 minutes as I figured out the traction control needed to be turned off AND stability needed to be turned off as well. Nothing like going up a steep dune only to have power cut out and brakes being applied on their own. Then finding out that over 40+mph the stability control (would turn itself back on until your speed went under 40 mph in which it would turn itself back on). In 4L TC and ESC automatically are disengaged, but really no need to go over 25mph in 4L anyway. I pulled the F106 fuse upon a recommendation so I would not have to keep pushing buttons to disengage all that stuff, but having the dash light up with ABS and other warnings like a Christmas tree was a little nerve racking, and then putting the fuse back in the Jeep needing a couple of engine on/off cycles for those lights to disappear only to have the check engine light stay on for another few engine cycles. Yeah, I though I really mucked something up. Once you properly read the manual, google the issues, and navigate through all the information from internet and folks ….you may have figured it out LOL. My last trip to the dunes was great. 4H, push TC button down keeping it pressed for 6 seconds or so to disengage both TC and ESC, letting the transmission shift as it needs to - it was a world of difference and an absolute joy. Here is me taking my wife up test hill celebrating our 22nd Anniversary - so much fun.

Some fun at Silver Lake going up Test Hill.
 
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bikenski

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Wow, tough crowd! As a fellow soon-to-be Jeep newbie, some of these posts make me feel like we showed up in our new Wranglers like this: (Totally kidding, and no offense intended if this is someone on the forum or their daughter... )

 

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Arterius2

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ok thanks, yea i would never do it on pavement. I was actually in some fairly rocky steep terrain.
I was just surprised i couldn't stop.
If you used the hill descent feature too much.
You may have already overheated your rotors and lose braking power until you let it cool down. Happened to me once on a long descent.
 

Sparty

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Wow, tough crowd! As a fellow soon-to-be Jeep newbie, some of these posts make me feel like we showed up in our new Wranglers like this: (Totally kidding, and no offense intended if this is someone on the forum or their daughter... )

Not a tough crowd at all - just more-so some straight talk. Some people can't handle that....but again, it's an internet forum.

It's really simple. My best advice is to read the manual (throw in the standard incapable male following/reading instructions joke here) and get a feel for what buttons/levers do what.

Then go out and have fun. Start on dirt roads, and move up to mild obstacles. The best learning is hands-on experience, but slowly build your skills. I did this with my TJ....started out with a stock "Sport". Then added armor, winch and went up to 32" tires. Then added lockers and went up to 35s with a Long Arm lift. I learned a lot along the way....and still have a lot more to learn.


I think the OP should go over to Pirate 4x4 with this thread and ask for help. They're a lot more easy going and nicer over there
 

azwjowner

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Wow, tough crowd! As a fellow soon-to-be Jeep newbie, some of these posts make me feel like we showed up in our new Wranglers like this: (Totally kidding, and no offense intended if this is someone on the forum or their daughter... )

Ultimately, we buy vehicles to enjoy them--regardless of how we obtain that enjoyment--so the girl in that video is actually making the best possible use of a Wrangler given how happy she seems to be. Even if she never goes offroad. She certainly seems to be having more fun than arguing online about reading manuals.
 

Dyolfknip74

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Wow, tough crowd! As a fellow soon-to-be Jeep newbie, some of these posts make me feel like we showed up in our new Wranglers like this: (Totally kidding, and no offense intended if this is someone on the forum or their daughter... )

She's 18. I'm glad the internet wasn't around when I was 18. Comments are turned off probably from all the toxic idiots.

I don't get why people concern themselves with other people's choices. Want to put a 1000 lights and an angry grill? I wouldn't but I don't give a flying shit if someone does. Doesn't affect my life at all. If it doesn't affect my sleep or my supper, I couldn't care less.
 

MichaelAnthony

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Ah here we go, i expected this.
Another "get out my sandbox " the toys are all mine person coupled with the assumption i have no off-road experience of skill!

You know, i can relate, because as a life long dirtbiker, i am sick and tired of dipshits in RZR's tearing shit up in the trails, not respecting the trails, driving around with a 30 pack of budlight in the cooler driving like maniacs. And you know what, I hate them all, so i got out of the game after 30 years.

Now i come to jeep land and its the same thing only im the unwelcome new guy who doesn't have a clue right? And I must be a jackass because i was screwing around with something that i just paid my money for, MY money, not yours, MINE

So no surprise that you dont like new comers. But i assure you, im not the type to end up "on my lid" because i have respect for things despite my joke about pushing buttons.
But hey, whatever makes you happy. if shitting on me does it for you, cool, who am i to stop you from being happy. Just dont project your shit onto me.

Here is a certainty for you to just get over.
New people buy Rubicon's everyday!! Tuff shit, get over it. There are millions of them on the road and you are just gonna have to share your toys.
Secondly, No matter how much i complain about morons in RZR's, its not going to change the fact that more and more are sold every day and it is not going to stop the idiot parents from letting the 12 year old drive the 2000 pound 200 horspower turbo rzr into the front of my jeep some day in a trail.

So feel free to do what i did about dirtbiking. Get out of the game. Go do something else. Because those two things above are not gonna change and you can be as pissed at the world about it as you want.
Nah bro you aren't any of that... There are those of us that have spent there life in the dirt like you and I and when we step into something new there are always those that have been around much longer that want to treat you that way.... I just go out and press all the shiny buttons and whistles? LoL yea never knew those existed.... LoL but anyway glad to see you have more and better toys than me you must have been blessed in your life.... I will say that these Jeeps have come a long way since days of old and that they do have a bunch more bells and whistles shiny or not... just take your time get used to them (I had a new learning curve) but most of all have fun doing it with a smile on your face..... :like:
 

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TJdesersand

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This happened to me until I read the manual.

It stated you can shift into and out of 4H at up to 45 MPH.

BUT

WHEN shifting to 4 LOW you should do it while rolling at 1-3MPH. NOT at a dead stop.

1. Get rolling (forward or back)
2. Pop trans into neutral
3. While rolling at 1 to 3 MPH (but not over 3) shift transfer case into 4 LOW
4. Do NOT PAUSE IN NEUTRAL, make one swift shift from 4Hi to 4Low

If you do it this way it’ll never pop out again once you get it right.

Something about the teeth don’t line up most of the time while your stopped. Stupid that Jeep made it like that

Popping out of 4Low is straight forward and doesn’t seem to be an issue while stopped. But I typically just do it at 1 to 3 mph now also while driving
Again, this is Command-trac, shift on the fly, mechanical transfer case . Be moving a little. I know it says you can be at a standstill. But it's shear luck, if the teeth align, that way. Trust me , be moving. I think lots of people come from electronic pushbutton, 4x4 world.
 

daboink

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I remember my old CJ-5 and the 304. Using my foot to kick the crap out of the shifter to get it into 4x4. Locking in the hubs, and shearing axle splines with "all that HP". Every time I went off-road for the day it cost me $200! But we had a blast. I learned a great deal from my mistakes and that of my friends. The new Wranglers are awesome; a heck of a bunch of electronics controlling our mistakes. I say just take it easy, rely on some folks that have made the same mistakes before and have fun.
 

Wraif

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Learning to off-road by reading the owner’s manual is like trying to play doctor by reading the side of the medication box. :LOL:
You can’t learn to wheel from the manual, but you can and do learn to operate your vehicle.
 

Wraif

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Ok so i took my jeep rubicon on its first outing on saturday.
Mind you im new to jeeps and wheelin.
Jeep is a totally stock JL Diesel rubicon

I tried 4 wheel low with lockers on for kicks. Wow did it make a racket. Is that normal?

The other thing i notices was, wow i had like zero brakes. Why did i all of a sudden have a mushy brake pedal? This was a very mild trail.

I also tried the 4X4 offroad cruise control, wow that thing is strange as hell. The jeep made even more groans and noise with that on.

The other thing that happened was, i noticed it popped out of 4 wheel drive twice and kicked itself into neutral.

What the hell did i do wrong?
If you have zero brakes because of all the torque it’s making in 4lo just do what I do, push in the clutch. The brakes work great then.
 

Bubalooie

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In all seriousness - you just bought a $50K + vehicle. For what you're doing, you've basically just turned it into a toy that you're playing with and not knowing what's going on.

Sit down, read the manual. Then read it again. If you have a specific question after or during reading the manual then either look it up on YouTube or ask it here.

I'm all for helping people out, but I shake my head at people who pay all this money and then just start pressing buttons and pulling levers.
Lighten up dude. He didn't ask you to pay damages for him, and you don't have to read the thread. I think you're short on hugs.
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